Paying Back Student Loans While Living the Life You Want
Are you fresh out of college and embarking on a new, exciting job? Getting that first real paycheck and living on your own can give you a huge boost of confidence, until those student loan bills arrive in your mailbox. Don’t panic. Paying back student loans while still living the life you want to live is possible. Here’s how:
Check Your Repayment Plan
If you’re totally overwhelmed by your monthly payment, contact the servicer on your federal student loan to see if you can switch to an income-driven student loan repayment plan. This helps you lower monthly payments, while avoiding missing bills and accruing additional interest charges. But, if you can, stick with the standard 10-year repayment plan. This plan charges the least amount of interest and sucks the least amount of time out of your life. If you’re able to put more money toward the principal, by all means, do!
Budget and Prioritize
First, you should lay out your budget. Begin with your student loan payment, rent, and other necessities like transportation and utilities. Prioritize the things that are important to you. If you love to travel, save money by living with several roommates to cut costs. Look at smaller expenses and see what you can eliminate. Look at your monthly recurring bills in particular: the gym, Netflix, and all those little charges that hit your credit card. Try living without them, or at least negotiating new deals with the providers.
Do You Need a Car?
Between a car payment, gas, insurance, and parking, it’s not a bad idea to ask yourself if the cost is worth it. If you live in the city, it may make sense to use the subway and Uber. Zipcar and other similar services let you access (and pay for) a car only when you need it. If you must have a car, consider buying used. Used vehicles dramatically lower your payment and insurance costs.
Get Creative
One of the best ways to attack debt is to pick up part-time work. Gigs like catering, bartending, and freelance writing can generate money that you can put directly toward your student loan debt. Also, check out free events going on in your community – movies in the park, concerts, speakers at the library. You may be amazed at what’s available for fun. And then there’s always Groupon and other online sources that offer drastically reduced offers for event tickets, restaurants and more.
In a Crunch?
No matter how diligent you are with your budget, unexpected expenses always pop up, usually at the worst times. If you’re in a crunch and need money quickly, consider a short-term loan through a resource like CashMax. CashMax helps people who are struggling financially via a number of ways. Stay focused and keep your eye on the goal. You got this!
